Luminous Melodies: Essential Dohas of Indian Mahamudra

Presented here for the first time in English is a collection of dohas, or songs of realization, lovingly selected and translated from the large compendium The Indian Texts of the Mahamudra of Definitive Meaning, which was compiled by the Seventh Karmapa and drawn primarily from the Tengyur. Beautiful, profound, and often outrageous, these verses were generally composed spontaneously and thus have a moving sense of freedom, openness, and bliss. They range from summaries of the entire path of Mahamudra to pithy four-liners that point directly to the buddha within us. The authors include famous masters like Saraha and Naropa, dakinis, kings, and also courtesans and cobblers-showing that realization is accessible to all of us, right here in our lives.